Luis Suárez seeks to be the new King of America

The Uruguayans Luis Suárez and Nicolás de la Cruz, the Argentine Germán Cano and the Colombian Jhon Arias could become the new "King of America" after reaching the final of the traditional survey organized annually by the newspaper El País of Uruguay. On Sunday, December 31, the winner of the 38th edition of the award given annually will be announced, in which Lionel Scaloni, Marcelo Bielsa, Fernando Diniz and Abel Ferreira will seek to be crowned the best coach on the continent.

Gremio's figure in the last season, Suárez will seek to establish himself for the first time and be the first Uruguayan 'King of America' since Carlos Sánchez was chosen as the best in 2015. Recently transferred to the American Inter Miami, Luis Suárez, former player of the Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid, he was the second top scorer in the last Brazilian league with 17 goals and one of the leaders in assists with 11 assists to his teammates.

Meanwhile, Cano and Arias shone in a season in which Brazilian Fluminense won the Carioca Championship and the Copa Libertadores. In that last tournament, the Argentine was the best player and the top scorer by scoring 12 goals, seven of these between the quarterfinals and the last match of the competition.

Finally, De la Cruz closed a season in which he won the Argentine local league and the Champions Trophy, while also becoming one of the regular starters on the national team. In fact, he finished 2023 as the third top scorer in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup with three goals in six games played.

On the throne of the winners

The winner of the 2023 edition of the 'King of America' will replace the Brazilian Pedro Guilherme, who won the last edition of the renowned award, given by the newspaper El País since 1986. So far, the footballers who have stood out the most were the Chilean Elías Ricardo Figueroa, the Brazilian Zico and the Argentine Carlos Tévez, who won it three times each.